(Football news) Roberto Martinez could be in line to secure a new job in the coming weeks after he recently resigned from his role with Belgium. The Catalan-born coach struggled to match expectations with the Red Devils, despite guiding his side to the No.1 position in the FIFA rankings within his tenure. After reaching the heights of going to the semi finals at the 2018 World Cup, Martinez was under immense pressure to build on that momentum, with a star studded squad at his disposal.

However, that was followed up by a painful quarter final exit in Euro 2020, followed by a disastrous group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup, as Martinez decided to step down. Despite his stock falling on the back of a poor showing in Qatar, it has been reported that Martinez is now the favourite to replace Fernando Santos as the Portugal head coach. Santos was another casualty from Qatar 2022, as his side were dumped out by Morocco. 

At Euro 2020, he took them to the quarter-finals before losing to Italy and while he never delivered the major tournament success, the so-called “Golden Generation” of players didn’t really live up to their expectation. Martinez is expected to come into the frame for club jobs should they become available in the second half of the campaign. His experience in the Premier League is also vast as it includes a fifth-placed finish during his three seasons with Everton and it looks Everton might just look to bring him back as Frank Lampard is under threat to lose his job.

The Portugal job has always had a homegrown manager or a Brazilian in charge of their national team but looks like the Portugal federation will be assessing their options as they prepare for the Euro 2024 in Germany. If Martinez does become the coach of Portugal it will be a massive change and his first criteria would be whether to play Cristiano Ronaldo or give the next generation the opportunity to flourish.

Martinez revealed when he left Belgium that his decision was made before the tournament. “The decision was taken just before the World Cup. I always work towards long-term projects and they need to be set in advance,” he said. 

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